Bass-X
by The Sigma Virus
Summary: This is my old story, but I've added more to Chapter Five and finished Chapters Six through Eight
1. Signs From The Past

DISCLAIMER: All characters are property of CAPCOM. The only exception to this is Bass-X, who even then is a modified version of Bass from the original MegaMan series.  
  
With that said and done, on to the story . . .  
  
BASS-X  
  
Chapter I - Signs From The Past  
  
"Well?" Zero asked, "Is it here or not."  
"Hold on a minute, I think I found it," Replied X.  
"I still can't believe Dr. Cain sent us here, of all the possible places. This place feels like a tomb" Zero muttered.   
He and X were sent to the ruined lab of Reploid scientist Dr. Doppler. While doing a scan of the area at Maverick Hunter H.Q., a guard noticed computer activity deep with the destroyed complex. Dr. Cain immediately sent X and Zero to investigate.  
"Got it," exclaimed X. "Gosh, it sure is small," he said while holding up a small memory chip so Zero could see it.  
"Good," Zero said quickly, "Better get that back to the lab. I don't want to spend anymore time than I need to here."  
  
"Here's the chip you wanted, Dr. Cain," X said as he handed the chip to the leader of Maverick Hunter.  
"Thank you, X. And you too, Zero," Cain replied, "Now I think I can begin my research on the Sigma virus."  
Zero quickly asked, "What do you mean by that?"  
"Well," Dr. Cain explained, "unless I am mistaken than this is a memory chip from the late Dr. Doppler."  
"What!?!" Zero and X said in unison.  
"That little thing?" asked X.  
"Impossible," Zero remarked.  
Dr. Cain simply responded, "The only way too find out for sure is to insert it into a computer and have it replay the memory. I've set up one that's not connected to anything else, so if it is infected, then the virus will not spread."  
"Impressive, Doctor," X commented.  
"By the way, I have completed my course on robotics at T. Light University. The new line of Reploids should be immune to the Sigma virus."  
"That's good news," said X.  
"Oh, before I forget. A few friends of mine were doing an archeological dig and found what appeared to be another capsule. I opened it about four hours ago. The design of this one seems almost identical to you, X. I've decided to put him in the Maverick Hunters in the 17th unit. I'd like the two of you to show him the ropes."  
A new Reploid entered the room. The robot seemed familiar to X, but he didn't know how. This new hunter had black armor with orange highlights. He had purple markings on his face from the corners of his eyes to the hinges in his jawbone. There was a deep blue gem on his chest, and the dark blue crystal that contained his control chip was star-shaped. The Reploids helmet had orange fins that started between his eyes and continued to the back of his neck. Zero also recognized this design, but not from a memory. The design of this one machine was familiar in the way that a human resembles his ancestors.  
"This," Dr. Cain introduced, "is Bass-X."  



	2. Friend Or Foe

Chapter II - Friend Or Foe  
  
"Hello Zero, X," said Bass as he nodded to both of them, "I'm Bass. Dr. Cain has told me all about you. You're confrontations with this robot, Sigma, are incredible."  
"Seems friendly enough, but can he fight?" X questioned as he examined the new Hunter.  
In the blink of an eye Bass was behind X with his buster pointed at X's head. Zero drew his Z-Saber and Bass backed off. "Do you think I can fight?" he asked them.  
"You just surprised me, that's all. When we get into the training room, then you'll see why I'm a unit leader."  
"Before you go," Dr. Cain interrupted, "I want you to know something. His buster seems to have been built differently than either of yours. This 'F-Buster' cannot charge. Instead it seems that it fires normal charges at an astonishing rate. Bass here can also use his propulsion enhancements to jump while in mid-air."  
"Enough talk," said Zero, "Let's go to the battle simulator."  
  
The battle simulator is a device in which a Reploid's conscious mind is temporarily uploaded so as to be able to fight and sustain extreme amounts of damage without going off-line. X and Zero had used it countless times to battle each other, but it was Bass's first time in it.  
  
"This is so weird," he said while examining himself. "So you said that this machine scans your body schematics and records them for later use?"  
"Yes," X replied in an annoyed tone of voice. Something about this Reploid made him feel uncomfortable.  
"So if I die, I'll just wake up outside of the machine?"  
"Yes"  
"So when do we start fighting?"  
"When Zero activates it from outside."  
  
The lights suddenly turned on. They were in a very large room, at least an acre across, and were on opposite sides of the room. X immediately took the offensive and jumped high into the air while charging his X-Buster and fired a huge blast of plasma at Bass. Bass dashed to the right to avoid the blast and jumped into the air too, except at the peak of his jump he kicked the air and flew even higher. He came down with his F-Buster blazing. X was amazed at the fire rate of his opponent's weapon, and in his moment standing in silent awe a barrage of projectiles hit him, causing a fair amount of damage. X slid out of the line of fire. Bass landed and looked around to see where X had gone. He heard a strong humming and turned around to see X's cannon aimed right at himself. A sphere of burning plasma engulfed Bass's body and the next moment he was back in Hunter H.Q.  
"Good job for a first battle," Zero complemented.  
X opened his eyes and was outside of the simulator looking at Bass and Zero. "That was pretty good, but you need to try to keep an eye on whomever you're fighting with. Not doing so can have devastating results, as you just found out," he informed Bass.  
"Thanks for the tip. I'll remember that."  
Zero was just looking at Bass. "You look familiar," he observed.  
"I don't know why I would. I only just met you," Bass said.  
"Well, all this may be well and good for the two of you, but I think we should be getting back to Dr. Cain to tell him about the outcome," X told them.  
  
"So, why exactly are we here."  
"Because Dr. Cain said he wanted me to see the place I was found."  
Bass had been sent to examine the site where his capsule had been found. There were no accurate maps of the area, but there were rumors that there was a lab here at the same time that Dr. Light was alive. X had been told to go along as well to make sure nothing happened to Bass.  
All of a sudden the ground crumbled beneath X and he fell down to what seemed like the remnants of the lab that was rumored to be here. Bass looked down from the top of the hole.  
"X, are you okay"  
"Yeah. Come down here and get a look at this."  
"Okay."  
Bass jumped down as well and looked around.  
"Where are we?" he asked.  
"I don't know. Let's look around for anything that Dr. Cain can use," X suggested.  
X went over to a computer terminal to see if it was still working while Bass shuffled through some papers on a desk.  
"This stuff has to be at least 50 years old. Look at the date on this."  
X came over and read the top line of the paper Bass was holding, "July 9, 2086."  
"Look at this one. Hey isn't this Zero?"   
Bass held up what appeared to be plans for Zero with plans for Bass right next to it. "No wonder he said I looked familiar, It seems we were built by the same guy. But I didn't know Zero was built when you were, did you?"  
X was just staring at the system schematics. "No, I didn't. I'm going to check that terminal over there again." He walked back to the old computer in the wall.  
Bass followed him and saw that X had connected his fusion generator to the computer so it would have power. The monitor flickered on and X started looking in the database.  
"It's a wonder all this stuff is still working at all," he said.  
The screen went to a picture of an old man about the same age as Dr. Light was when he died. The man in the picture had spiky hair that stuck out on both sides of his head and had a large bald spot. The scientist in the picture had a matching moustache.  
"It seems this lab belonged to a 'Dr. Wily', who appears to be your run-of-the-mill mad scientist. Were you and Zero really built by this guy?" asked X as he turned to look at Bass.  
Bass was just staring at the image of Dr. Wily. The next moment a large 'W' flashed in the crystal on Bass's head and he jumped back and started shooting at X.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?!" X yelled as he slid out of the way. The F-Buster shots destroyed the computer just after it had ejected a disk with the contents of the hard drive.  
"Stop it!" X screamed at him. When no response came from Bass, he charged up his X-Buster and jumped out of the lab. When Bass jumped out of the lab X shot him with Crystal Hunter that he got from his second battle with Sigma. Bass froze in an instant and X took him back to Hunter H.Q. to be examined.  



	3. The Return Of Doppler

Chapter III - The Return Of Doppler  
  
"This is an intriguing find," Cain commented as he examined Bass, who had been de-activated as a safety precaution. "This is the exact same problem I ran into when I reprogrammed Zero. The reason must be related to Dr. Wily. How much of the lab was damaged?"  
"The only thing he managed to destroy before I got him out was a computer terminal. I made a copy of the hard drive before he destroyed it," X explained.  
"Good. I may be able to figure out why he went maverick all of a sudden." Dr. Cain seemed to be talking to himself. "Sigma said he saw a 'W' flash on Zero's head when he first fought Zero. That was when Sigma was still a Hunter."  
X was baffled by this startling revelation about his friend. "I didn't know Zero was a maverick."  
Dr. Cain explained at length that Zero had destroyed an entire unit before Sigma had stepped in and smashed the control chip. Dr. Cain then had reprogrammed Zero to be a Maverick Hunter.  
"So that's why Bass went insane when he saw that photo of Dr. Wily. There must have been something in his memory chips that recognized the image."  
"Exactly," said Cain. "Oh, I have someone for you to meet, X."  
The computer that the two were standing at came on and a picture of the late Dr. Doppler appeared. "Greetings, X. It has been a long time."  
"Doppler! You're alive!" X exclaimed.  
"Almost, X. Dr. Cain has yet to build ma a new body. Until then I'm quite comfortable as a normal computer program. I have been working with him on this new Reploid, Bass. It seems that both he and Zero were carriers of the Maverick Virus. He didn't expose any wires, did he?"  
"No, I dodged out of the way before he could land a shot on me."  
"Perfect. The virus has been contained for further study. I believe we have neutralized it for now. Dr. Cain, could you please re-activate our friend here?"  
"Certainly," said Cain as he started fiddling with something in Bass's circuits. Suddenly the Reploid's eyes opened.  
"Where am I?" he asked.  
"You're in Maverick Hunter H.Q, Bass," X told him, "You went maverick while we were in Wily's lab."  
"I did? Sorry about that. Say, who's the dude with the funky beard?" Bass asked, referring to Dr. Doppler.  
"I am Dr. Doppler. The computer virus that was in you has been contained. You are ready to go back to active duty for now. However, you'll need to be evaluated in about a month."  
"Okay. Thanks, Doc," said Bass.  
"I'd appreciate it if you would call me Dr. Doppler," Said the computer.  



	4. The Wily Wars

Chapter IV - The Wily Wars  
  
X, Zero, Bass, and Dr. Cain were all in a private section of Hunter H.Q.  
"These are the only records I could find when I went to Dr. Light's lab," Cain said. "They seem to indicate that Dr. Wily attempted hostile takeovers no less then eight times. A robot named 'Mega-Man', who was built by Dr. Light and also X's predecessor, was the one to stop Dr. Wily each time. The year in one file I found was faded, I could only make out the year 20XX. Apparently Dr. Wily built a robot using Mega-Man's plans. He named this new robot 'Bass', who is most likely an older model of the Bass standing with us right here."  
Bass looked sullen. "So my only purpose was to destroy Dr. Light and Mega-Man?"  
"Actually, no," Cain said. "Dr. Wily got wind of Dr. Light's plans to build an advanced robot and seal it away. According to records from Wily's lab, you were designed to destroy this newer Mega-Man. That is why you attacked X in the lab. Wily built Zero to kill Dr. Light, but didn't have enough time to see if he would obey. My guess from the last of his notes is that Zero went maverick and not only destroyed Dr. Light and his lab, but killed Dr. Wily as well. Where Zero spent the time between then and his fighting Sigma a few years ago is beyond my knowledge, and when I re-programmed him, Zero lost all previous memories."  
"That's why I didn't remember being a maverick until Sigma told me about it," Zero said quietly.  
Dr. Cain looked at Zero with pity. "Exactly."  



	5. A Dangerous Ally

Chapter V - A Dangerous Ally  
  
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! MAVERICK FORCES AT POINT 6923! ALL UNITS CONVERGE!"  
The Reploids working at H.Q. were frantic. There was yet another maverick revolt occurring. This was one of the largest yet. All units were sent to pacify the rebellion, but Special Force Unit #0 was told to stay at the command center.  
"We're the best unit Maverick Hunter has!" Zero yelled. "Why aren't we there to!"  
Dr. Cain was frantic. "Do you remember what happened the last time something like this happened? We were attacked and couldn't defend ourselves. You need to stay here."  
Zero started swearing profusely, but Dr. Cain stuck by his decision. Meanwhile at Raiddx City, the renegades Reploids were wreaking havoc. The populace had been evacuated earlier, and now all of the Hunters were trying to calm the raging mavericks. X and Bass were cornered by a giant robot that they had to destroy.  
X had to yell at Bass over all the noise, "Why is there always a giant machine after me on all of these missions."  
"You mean this isn't the first time?" Bass yelled back.  
At that moment a swift blow knocked X to the side and damaged his fusion generator. He couldn't teleport out of the fight. Everything was up to Bass now. And Bass seemed to be handling it rather well. It appeared that he was in some sort of wild rage, but X couldn't tell from what, and was hitting the Reploid with blow after blow from his weapon. The maverick soon exploded from the torrent of flaming bursts being issued from the F-Buster. Bass immediately calmed down and went to get X. All X could do was gaze horrified at what just happened. It looked like Bass was enjoying fighting the maverick. That was too much for X to handle in his weakened state and he blacked out.  
  
"What happened to him?"  
"I don't know, he just fell over when I walked over to him. I got him back as soon as I could."  
"It's a good thing you did. He wouldn't have lasted another second out there."  
X slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry, but he could make out three figures above him.   
That red one must be Zero, X thought. And the blue thing is Dr. Cain, I'm sure. But who is the black guy? Oh, yeah. Bass. "BASS!?!"  
X blurted out that last name. He remembered what had happened and sat up.  
"Dr. Cain! I need to tell you something about Bass!" he said.  
Cain was hesitant. He thought that X needed rest. "Okay, but make it quick."  
"I don't think Bass can be in the Hunters. Before I was knocked out, I'm sure I saw that Bass was enjoying destroying that Reploid. He's too dangerous to be in the Hunters."  
Dr. Cain laughed, "Don't be ridicules. Bass wouldn't act like that." He looked sternly at Bass. "Would you?"  
Bass looked nervous under the glare. "Uh, no. Of course not. You were just imagining things, X."  
'I sure hope so,' X thought to himself.  
  
Bass was confused. He was sure that X was imagining him 'enjoying destruction'.  
I wouldn't do that. I'm not a monster. Am I? Millions of questions were flooding into Bass's head. He took of his helmet and raked a finger through his red-black hair. I was designed to be a war machine. So why do I deny my purpose? I've never known Dr. Wily, so why do I fear him? He isn't even alive. He died eighty years ago. So why am I afraid? What are these feelings?  
Soon Bass was overwhelmed. He went to see Dr. Cain.  
"I see," said Cain in the way a psychiatrist explains to his patients that he understands, while not understanding whatsoever. "Well, why don't you take a few days to think it over. I'll send Zero in to speak with you. I believe he knows what you are going through."  
Bass didn't think stewing in his feelings would help, but what else was there to do? "Okay."  



	6. The End Of Bass?

Chapter VI - The End Of Bass?  
  
Zero was waiting by the battle simulator. Cain had just contacted him via his transmitter and told him that Bass was coming.  
"Hey, Bass," he called as the black and orange Reploid turned the corner. "Doc told me you were on your way over."  
"Yeah, hi," Bass responded. Zero could tell something was bothering the new Hunter.  
"Care for a match?" Zero offered, indicating the simulator with a wave of his hand.  
"Sure, anything to get my mind off him."  
"Off who?"  
"Wily."  
Zero recoiled a bit at the sound of the name. It still brought chills when he thought about what had happened before Cain reprogrammed him. Zero could remember the fight with Sigma all too clearly as he put a hand on his Z-Saber, which once belonged to Sigma. He still had nightmares about it, and about the man with the odd hair. It had gotten worse after the revelation about his creator. The only thing that seemed to help was the simulator, which was why he and Bass were there right now.  
"After you," Bass said.  
  
Dr. Cain had set up this program as a training session for new Maverick Hunters. You would make your way through a Maverick revolt and be graded on how much damage you caused and how many people you could save. 'Real-Life Training' and Cain put it. Get used to it in a simulator and the actual thing would be easier. The only downside was that it gave you a sense of power, something that the Hunter's shouldn't get used too.  
  
"Zero, behind you!" Bass shouted as a Ball de Voux came spinning down the road.  
"I got it!" Zero yelled back as he let out a few shots from his Z-Buster. The Ball de Voux exploded in a pile of shrapnel. Bass looked down at it's remains and frowned.  
"Zero, come over here," he told the red Reploid.  
"What is it?"  
There's something I can't get over. I don't like doing this. Even if it's not real, I don't like destroying robots. Anything for that matter," Bass said quietly. "Yet something in me is telling me that I must, even if I don't want to, and it can't be good. There's no reason that I have to do this, but. . ." he trailed off.  
"Cain, shut down the program," Zero said to nothing in particular, but the wrecked robot and buildings disappeared. They were out of the simulator and the doctor was hurrying down the hall.  
"I'm getting to old for this," said Cain, out of breath. "What's the matter, Zero?"  
Zero looked dead serious. "I don't know how to say this, but I think Bass needs to be shut down."  
"What!?!" exclaimed Bass and Cain.  
"Why?" asked Bass.  
"There's no reason," Cain said.  
"I believe," continued Zero, "that X may be right about Bass. We need to at least rub a diagnostic to see if he's still a carrier of the Sigma Virus. I want to make sure."  
"Fine, there's no harm in that. I think," Bass said.  
"I'll get Doppler's opinion," Cain said quickly, "He's an expert at this, considering he was infected."  
Zero seemed slightly relieved. "Good, I don't want to take any risks, what with everything that's happened recently."  
Cain looked at the black hunter and said, "Bass, come with me."  
Zero watched them walk down the hall. Did I do the right thing? Maybe Bass should've decided on his own to get tested again. Don't' try to fool yourself, Zero. Bass has done all he can. He needs all of the help he can get now.  



	7. Sigma Revisited

Chapter VII - Sigma Revisited  
  
"No! This cannot be!"  
"Then what is, Doc?"  
"He has been destroyed, I made sure of that. Yet the evidence of his existence is overwhelming."  
"I know what you mean. Me and X have gotten rid of him five times already, at least."  
"Let me see that," said a new voice.  
Dr. Doppler and Zero were going over the results of Bass's tests. The dark armored Hunter was crouched in a corner, apparently asleep, but closer examination revealed that he was de-activated at the moment. The new person speaking was Dr. Cain, who had just walked into the room.  
Zero jumped a bit into the air at the sudden interruption. "Whoa, don't do that. You startled me."  
Cain was very impatient. He had just been speaking with X about the recent Maverick revolt and X immediately thought Sigma was behind it all. Being who he was, it was impossible to convince X that he could have been mistaken.  
"Just let me see that data."  
"Okay, sir," replied Zero. "Doppler, could you display Bass's Maverick infection results?"  
"That's Dr. Doppler," sighed the computer as a close-up of Bass's memory banks appeared on screen.  
"That's interesting. I don't recognize that pattern of programming," muttered Cain as he stroked his abnormally large beard. "Dr. Doppler, would you please do a search for the program in cluster MD-10132?"  
"I've been telling Zero for the past half hour, that's Sigma's program."  
"And I know for a fact that about half of that is wrong for the Virus. See that right there? Cain could never have understood that enough when Sigma was built to put it in."  
"Sigma can alter his program to suit his needs. He wasn't originally compatible with the Kaiser Body I designed, so he changed his operating parameters."  
"This is too complex. That much alteration would destroy Sigma entirely . . ."  
The arguing went on for about ten minutes before Dr. Cain lost his temper.  
"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" yelled the enraged scientist. "How can we get anything done when the two of you are constantly bickering about computer code!?! Just be quiet for a minute so I can study this!"  
  
After what seemed like hours Dr. Cain looked away from the schematics.  
"This appears to be the original program for the Maverick Virus."  
"Don't you mean Sigma Virus?" inquired Zero?  
Cain turned his attention back to the screen. "No, Zero, I mean Maverick Virus. When you infected Sigma, the file altered itself to cope with a stronger host. Eventually Sigma managed to further change the Virus to help in his conquest. In doing so, it became something else entirely. The program we call the Sigma Virus. Tell me if this gets repetitive."  
Zero, who had become bored during Cain's endless droning, had fallen asleep and began to snore loudly. "Yeah, yeah . . . I like cookies . . . Back up the truck," he said in his sleep.  
Cain walked over to the red Reploid and whapped him sharply on the head with his cane. "Wake up! I need you to look at this," ordered Cain as he turned around. "Dr. Doppler, do you have that file?"  
"Yes, sir. Here it is," answered the robot scientist as another file was displayed beneath the first.  
"Thank you, Doctor," said Cain as he pointed out various sections of the two viruses to Zero. "This here is what causes the Reploids to become berserk, but notice how in the more recent version that code is different. It allows those infected to think clearly, with the exception that they want to eliminate the human race."  
"Interesting, but hoe does this affect me?" question Zero, beginning to yawn.  
"Doppler's anti-virus was designed to capture the Maverick Virus, but Sigma had changed the program to far, which explains why he escaped. Our friend Bass is a living carrier of the virus, which means that I may be able to produce a more effective antidote for the Sigma, which could, in theory, bring him back to our side."  
X had just stepped into the room at this point and heard the last sentence of Dr. Cain's brief speech. The prospect of having Sigma as a good guy was unbelievable, and X passed out again as his logic comprehension circuits overloaded.  



	8. The New Antidote

Chapter VIII - The New Antidote  
  
"Maybe X is the one who needs to be released from the Hunters," said Zero as he rushed over to the blue robot who was no unconscious on the ground.  
"No, that won't help, Zero. The last thing we need is to discharge one of our best," said Cain as he hurried after Zero. "Dr. Doppler, could you re-activate the diagnostic program. We need to scan X for possible damage to his circuitry."  
"Yes, sir," replied the computer.  
  
About a half-hour later, X was on the scanner, still out cold. Cain had removed X's helmet and artificial skin, and was attaching numerous wires to ports in X's plate metal skull. Doppler was on a nearby computer screen going over X's schematics.  
"This doesn't make any sense. It seems that X's logic circuits blew out," muttered Doppler, "but there's no explanation why."  
"When did X enter the room?" asked Cain.  
"When we were talking about the antidote. Why do you ask?"  
"So he heard us saying we could reprogram Sigma?"  
"It would seem so."  
"That would explain it. X didn't hear the whole conversation, just the bit about Sigma returning to the Hunters. It made no sense what-so-ever to him, so his circuits blew."  
"Yes, that would make sense."  
"It depends whose perspective your taking. Dang!"  
At that moment Cain hadn't been paying attention to what he was doing and zapped himself on X's generator. Luckily, he hit a part of X that needed very little energy, so he didn't much of a shock.  
"There, he's hooked up. Run the diagnostic, Dr. Doppler," ordered Cain as he sucked on his now bright red finger.  
"Okay," said Doppler.  
The wires started to glow brightly as energy was transferred from X to the computer. Copies of self-diagnostics appeared on some monitors while scans of programs began to glow on others. Cain looked at all of the screens until he suddenly he brief yelp of surprise.  
"Doppler," Dr. Cain yelled, "Get Zero and Bass in here at once."  
  
"What is that?"  
"How should I know?"  
"Maybe it's a virus."  
"No it can't be"  
"Not one that we know of, at least."  
"SHUT UP!"  
Dr. Cain was showing the others what he found in X's program. Unfortunately, they were all jumping to conclusions and making up theories about what the defect could be. After trying to get a word in edgewise multiple times, Cain had gotten very upset and started shouting.  
"Listen up, already," said the doctor as he glared at everyone to maintain silence. "I've figured out what this is, and I would gladly tell you if only you could stay quiet for a moment."  
By now Zero, Bass, and Doppler were all paying attention to Cain.  
"This odd formation is not a virus. It appears to be the antidote."  
"What!?!" yelled the three Reploids.  
"It's true. I copied the program and inserted it into a Maverick that we have in custody. Within minutes he regained his composure and was willing to talk to us, and there was no trace of any viruses."  
"How did that happen?" asked Bass.  
"Well, Bass, it seems that upon meeting you, X's system recognized an enemy and started producing antibodies to protect itself. That's why X never trusted you as much as even Doppler. He somehow knew that you were dangerous to him in some way. My guess would be possible transference of the virus."  
"So," said Zero, "how are we going to get Sigma injected with the Vaccine?"  
"I think we'll need someone who Sigma doesn't know, but feels he can trust," answered Cain as he turned to Bass. "Someone who has the Virus."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED 


End file.
